Laser scanners are used for a multitude of applications, for example, for image projection, in headlights, or for scanning surrounding areas of vehicles. In this context, a laser scanner is to be understood, in particular, as a device, in which a laser beam is directed onto a deflection device and controlled by this, in accordance with an actuating signal, in such a manner, that the reflected laser beam scans a solid angle range of interest, e.g., a screen. Scanning is to be understood as covering the solid angle range or the screen in a traversing manner, for example, in zigzag patterns; a desired scanning density being able to be a function of the specific application.
By way of example, a laser scanner, as is explained in more detail in the following, in light of FIG. 6, is discussed in US 2010/079 836 A1. FIG. 6 shows a customary laser scanner 1, which includes a light source 2 that is configured to generate a laser beam 3 and direct it onto a micromirror 4. The laser beam 3 striking micromirror 4 is deflected, as a deflected laser beam 5, in the direction of a screen 6; micromirror 4 being controlled by a regulating device 7 so as to scan screen 6.
To that end, micromirror 4 rotates about a first axis of rotation, which may also be referred to as a rapid axis of rotation, so that screen 6 is traversed in a horizontal direction from left to right and back again in a periodic manner. In addition, micromirror 4 rotates about a second axis of rotation, which may also be referred to as a slow axis of rotation, in such a manner, that light beam 5 traverses screen 6 periodically from top to bottom and back again. The zigzag pattern shown in FIG. 6 results from superimposing the movements about the first and the second, that is, the slow and the rapid, axes of rotation. Regulating device 7 receives position signals 8, which indicate a respective position of deflection device 4, and, on the basis of them, adapts control signals 9 for controlling deflection device 4.
The scanning is normally implemented in a periodic, in particular, a sinusoidal, motion, as represented, for example, in FIG. 7. FIG. 7 shows a graph, which represents a deflection angle α of a micromirror 4 as a function of time t within one period, in the form of a sine function. In the case of a motion as shown in FIG. 7, maxima of a location probability density for the deflected light beam result in accordance with the deflection angle of micromirror 4, as shown in FIG. 8. Accordingly, there are maxima of the location probability density at the maximum deflection angle in the negative direction, αmin, as well as at the maximum deflection angle in the positive direction, αmax.